Technic 8071 assembly problemI have this set and didn't encounter any problems. Not at this step, not at any other. (Unlike with easily a dozen other sets, where the instructions were wrong, in point of fact, in all kinds of ways and for all kinds of reasons, so I know LEGO aren't impeccable.) And everything was functioning properly when it was assembled. Sadly I've long disassembled it, so I don't even know what all these gears did anymore. And of course I don't remember by heart if my instructions actually looked the same as in the image above, so I guess I will have to check that to be completely sure.

Why are Lego sets put in such big boxes?More to the point, though, downsizing is not a term that applies in the first place. Downsizing, by (any) definition, does not describe a status quo; it only describes a change. Like, taking the Town Hall that has 2800 parts, and then silently reducing it to 2300 parts, without changing the package size. That simply does not happen with LEGO. Also, upon closer examination you will find that all the typical reasons for downsizing listed in your answer do not actually apply to LEGO as much as you make it sound, and some do not apply at all, in point of fact.

Why are Lego sets put in such big boxes?Sorry, this is hogwash. You take one buzzword, downsizing, and then you exaggerate everything about it out of all proportion. The bottles example is utter nonsense, and the "tens of millions pounds" is probably the most striking instance of something you only just invented on the spot, but it's by far not the only one. The whole answer reads like pure speculation assembled out of thin air as you go along. I'd suggest to drastically tone it down, providing references for all the egregious claims, and going away with the claims you cannot prove.

Which resolution is necessary to print bricks with a 3D printer?I don't understand the question. TLG have done tons of research on this, and they are a business so they don't want to be wasting money. So if they settled for the tolerance of 10 micrometers, then a tolerance of 100 micrometers is obviously not enough. Simple as that.

May15

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Why are Lego sets put in such big boxes?@Joubarc that is an interesting twist, and originally that may well have been the case, but right now that reason is as bogus as any other. The Town Hall is actually smaller than its picture on the package. Same for the VW Camper Van. And the R2-D2 on the package is almost twice its actual size — in one direction, but we are talking about a 3D model, so you are led to believe it would be 8 times larger overall. I lost count of how many people were underwhelmed by my R2-D2 after having seen the package. And these are not the only sets like that, the list goes on.